Separating impurities from water



" suction, if desired.

I supported impurities will collect in time.

Patented Feb. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE m ma... We

g Charles H. Spaulding, Springfield, Iii.

Application October 10, 1938, Serial No. 234,272

2 Claims.

It is an improvement upon my devices shown in Patents, No. 2,021,672, issued November 19, 1935, and No. 2,127,314, issued A ugust 16, 1938.

In Patent 2,021,672, I describe a method, by

I which purification of water is accomplished by means of a. velocity-sustained area of small particles maintained as a layer in the water to be purified. The maintenance of such a velocitysustained area is accomplished by rapidly diminishing the velocity of the water while .fiowing in an upward direction. .As shown in that patent,

the impuritieswere collected in this area and remained there until they had grown by accretion to such a size that they would'no longer be sustained by the velocity of the water. They would then drop to a lower level and ultimately would drop out the bottom of the precipitation zone from which they were removed by mechan ical'meansy v It has now been discovered that this process may be advantageously altered; particularly where it is desired to accomplish similar results at a, lesser cost by withdrawing precipitated matter from the precipitating zone preferably after .it has reached a substantially increased size. In this method, the reaction zone of the previous apparatus may be dispensedwith, and the mechanical precipitate-removing opening in the bottom of the device may likewise be omitted.

The precipitate may be introduced directly to the zone of velocity and the water removed directly therefrom for use. The device is illustrated in the drawin .in

which the figureillustrates a conical tank ll1;

having its apex H at the bottom and provided I I with an overflow pipe 12 and inflow line It,

which leads to apex of the cone and there discharges. A fullopening valve vided at the bottom the cone, if desired, to remove any large concretions which may develop from time to time, or these may be removed by The velocity of water at the apex of the cone is sufficient to. support even 5 large impurities, but the velocity is adjusted to 'the size of the cone so that somewhere below ed to so said mixture upwardly through said zone wherethe top of thecone the velocity is a point where the j water will not support the coagulated impurities, or even the finest impurities-if it is desired to remove without coagulation. At this point, a blanket of'veloci a 86 The foregoing Il may be pro- (01. zit-5a) "top' of this blanket is indicated by the dotted line II. From that point downward, the size of the particles gradually increases, as well as their concentration, until a zone is reached where the 5 upward velocity is so high as to permit little or no concentration of impurities. The result is a relatively narrow blanket of velocity-sustained impurities. A draw-off line 16,1 controlled by valve 11, is provided at a point below the top "of the blanket, and of relatively small-size. This draw-ofi line may be operated continuously or periodically to remove the sludge which has accumulated in the blanket. Inasmuch as the precipitated'matter has vastly concentrated itself j at this point, large quantities of it may be removed with very little water. By operating in this manner, pure clean water may be continuously taken from the o,verfiow and the precipi- 1 tated matter continuously or periodically with-- drawn from the draw-off line.

The water entering the cone through the line 13 may or may not have been previously treated n with a precipitating chemical.

80 in the drawing, the precipitating agent may thus be delivered from the storage box 18 through the pipe I! to the inlet1pipel3, the passage thereof through the pipe I! being controlled by the valve 20. e

detailed description has been given for clearness (if-understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construedas broadly as permissible in view of the priorart.

I claim: g i

1. The method of purifying a supply of w'ate'r ladenwith the impurities characteristic thereof, 'which comprises maintaining a zone of upwardly increasing area, mixing the impurity ladenwater with a precipitating agent, introducing the mixture into the lower portion of said zone at a velocity sumcient to support substantially all of the impurities and precipitate therein, passing in fine impurities and precipitate aggregate, simultaneously progressively g the ve- Where such precipitate is desired, it may be introduced just be- 2b fore the water reaches the cone or in the cone,

and precipitate, whereby a velocity-supported blanket of impurities and precipitate is created immediately below said intermediate portion of said zone and ca containing clear water mov-.

ing at low velocity is provided above said intermediate portion, withdrawing water highly concentrated with aggre ated impurities and precipitate from the area of said blanket as a di- CHARLES H; SPAULDING. 

